


The Silver Lining

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: The Silver Lining [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 18:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7373068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A 13 year old Hannah (Peanut) hears the Blue fairy mocking her relationship with her mother and Regina helps her daughter to understand that she was always loved and wanted.</p><p>Written for Cherish the Peanut Week on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It had become something of a tradition on the weekend before Hannah’s birthday.

Robin, Henry and Roland would go camping—doing whatever it was that they did for three days in the woods, and Regina and Hannah would have a Girls Weekend—as Hannah got older, their routine changed, shifting from tea parties to trips to the spa. But there were staples in the weekend, traditions like getting their nails done and having sushi for dinner, wearing mud masks as they watched cheesy movies and experiment dipping fruits and crackers into fondue. Regina always took a half-day that Friday and allowed Hannah to do this same, and they’d have lunch at Granny’s to kick-off their weekend.

Smiling Regina’s eyes scan the menu as she waits for Hannah to arrive and for their weekend to begin—her anticipation for the weekend building as she waits.

“You really think so? I don’t think she looks like her mother _at all_.”

Regina’s eyes cast upward at the sound of hushed voices a few tables away.

“Oh, don’t be daft. Everyone knows Mayor Mills isn’t her _real_ mother. She’s only raising her because…well…what else was she supposed to do?” There’s a slight chuckle behind her words. “What would everyone have said if she’d turned her back on her true love after everything he’d been put through?

“And put through _because of_ her,” another one of them adds.

“The child was practically forced onto her. She couldn’t let her sister win.”

“Maybe at first…”

“Oh, come on,” Blue interjects with a roll of her eyes. “You’re talking about a woman who cursed an entire population for twenty-eight years, _after_ a decade of her reign of terror. This little _charade_ is nothing.” Someone clears their throat, but Blue continues on and Regina feels her jaw tense and her fingers clench into fists as she slides from the booth. “Well, it’s _true_. People might have said she was _evil_ again.” She blinks a couple of times, “What? You didn’t know the story about how her Wicked Witch sister…violated him?”

“No, it’s…just…”

“If you know what’s good for you, you won’t say another word,” Regina interjects. Her voice is cold and her jaw is tense, her shoulders are squared and her hands are balled into tight fists—the only thing keeping her hands from blasting the fairies from the diner.

“Regina, I didn’t…”

“See me?” She nods curtly. “That’s obvious.”  Regina takes a breath and tries to keep a level head. “You don’t have to like me—and really, I couldn’t care less if you do because quite frankly, _I_ don’t like _you_. But you will leave _my daughter_ out of this. And if you so much as…”

“Mom?”

Regina stops and her breath catches at the back of her throat as her fists unclench. “Hannah,” she murmurs, turning to see her thirteen year old daughter standing in the diner’s entrance way, fidgeting uncomfortably as she twists the end of her strawberry blonde ponytail between her fingers. “Hannah, how long have you…”

“Long enough,” Hannah replies quietly as her jaw trembles. She blinks back her tears as her eyes trail past Regina, suddenly aware that everyone in the crowded diner is looking at her, she turns her heels and pushes herself out of the diner.

It takes Regina only a second to reach her, catching her by the elbow and gently drawing her back. “Hannah, are you…”

“What? Am I _okay_?” Her eyes are welled with tears that threaten fall at any moment. “I have a better question, Mom. Are they right…about me?”

“Hannah, no,” Regina begins, her heart clenching at the pain that’s resonated in her daughter’s eyes. She and Robin have talked about this a hundred times—how they’d explain it and what they’d say, how they’d ease her into the information and assure that they always loved her. But each time they discussed it, it was always on their terms, never on someone else’s, and never so cruelly.

And never did they anticipate she’d be this young.

“So, Zelena…she…did she really…” Hannah’s face crumples; she can’t verbalize the thought, the words themselves too painful for her to finish. But without a doubt, she now knows and understands just how she came to be and why. Reaching out, Regina pulls her into a hug, holding her against her chest and stroking her fingers through her loose ponytail. “I always just thought that dad and Zelena…I don’t know…just hooked up once or something. Before you came along…but…this…it answers so many questions,” she says in a voice that’s barely more than whisper through her tears.

Dropping a kiss over the top of her head, Regina pulls back and musters a smile as she wipes away Hannah’s tears with her thumbs. “Why don’t we discuss this at home, okay?” She grins as she feels her own tears welling in her eyes. “Today seems like a good nice to have some mint chocolate chip for lunch…and maybe dinner, too. Don’t you think so?” Stretching her arm across Hannah’s shoulders, Regina hugs her to her side–wishing that there was some for this to hurt less.

____

Regina strokes Hannah’s hair and watches as she drags her spoon through the melting mint chocolate chip. She didn’t say much on the ride home, barely acknowledging Regina’s voice as she stared distantly out the window. When they’d gotten home, she stood in the foyer, looking completely deflated—looking as though her world was crashing down around her, doubting everything that that morning she knew to be true. Regina’s arm had stretched over her shoulders and she’d led her to the kitchen. She’d scooped the ice cream and placed it in front of her, and she’d waited—watching helplessly as silent tears trailed down Hannah’s cheeks.

It broke her heart to watch her this way, and she felt her blood boiling—anger bubbling beneath the surface—but she remained calm and collected, rubbing her hand between Hannah’s shoulders, just waiting for her to be ready to talk, saying a silent prayer that she wouldn’t bottle this up, that she wouldn’t dwell on it, that she wouldn’t shoulder a burden that doesn’t belong to her.

“How can you stand me?” She murmurs, angrily wiping the tears from her cheeks. “What they said had to be true.” Her eyes fall away from Regina’s. “Because there’s no way that you could have wanted me. Not after… _that_.”

“Oh, Peanut,” Regina says, her chest tightening and her heartbeat slowing. “They are so wrong.”

“I don’t see how.”

“Peanut, what happened all those years ago, it’s not your fault.”

Hannah just shrugs, “But I’m a reminder of it.”

“No…”

“Mom, I look exactly like her.”

“But you’re not her. You’re you and…”

“You can’t possibly say you were glad when you found out about me.”

Regina takes a breath—it’s hard to remember how felt all those years before, when Robin told her about the child Zelena carried; and it’s hard for her to remember how she’d plotted to remove Zelena—and her unborn child—from their story, how she’s wished that she could undo what happened in New York, and how she and Robin had avoided the subject until they couldn’t avoid it any longer.

“See?” Hannah says, her voice cracking as she looks down at the melting mint chocolate chip. “You can’t.”

Regina feels warm tears welling and threatening to fall, her heart breaking at her daughter’s words. “Hannah, we love you. We have always loved you.” But Hannah’s shoulders shrug dismissively—she doesn’t believe it, she doesn’t see how it’s possible.

Reaching out she takes Hannah’s hand in hers, gently tugging her up. Hannah follows her lead, saying nothing as they ascend the stairs. Regina smiles sadly as she looks over at her daughter as they step into the master bedroom. She lets go of her hand, keeping an eye on her through the mirror as she pulls a leather bound journal from her nightstand.

“Sit,” she says, nodding toward the bed. Hannah does and Regina sits down beside her, holding the book in her hands. Hannah’s curious eyes rest on it, watching closely as Regina fans the pages, scanning them as a small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “I thought I’d give this to you…one day.” She looks at Hannah and her smile deepens. “I wasn’t sure when, but your dad and I knew this day was coming, and I wanted to make sure that you…knew just how loved and how _wanted_ you are.”

Hannah blinks as she looks from the journal to Regina, “What’s in there?”

“Letters,” Regina says easily. “Letters I started to write to you before you were even born.” She grins. “I, um, I know what it’s like to grow up feeling like you’re not wanted, not good enough.” She shakes her head, thinking of the letter Rumplestiltskin had written to Cora—the letter she’d believed was about her, but really was about Zelena. It had occurred to her, at some point during Zelena’s pregnancy, that the inspiration behind the letter didn’t really matter, what mattered was the way that letter had made her feel. And it had occurred to her somewhere around the same time that she had a lot in common with the child Zelena carried—and there wasn’t nothing she wouldn’t do to ensure that that child grow up feeling secure and loved, that she’d grow up differently than her mother.

“You…wrote me letters?”

Regina nods, “Yeah—there’s a few from before you were born, and one I wrote the night you were born and the first time I held you. There are letters about everything—the way you’d cry and cry until one of us came and got you and then, almost immediately would fall back asleep when we held you, and there’s one about your word and your first steps, and your first temper tantrum and how much you reminded me of me in that moment—and there’s another about the first time you threw sand at Roland and he cried and  your first day of school and the first time you rode a bike and the time you hid vegetables that you didn’t want to eat in the plants and the entire house started to smell.” Regina smiles and she hands the book over to Hannah, watching as her fingers rub over the soft leather. “Some of the letters are little pieces of advice and things I want to make sure I told you, and others are just silly little antidotes from your dad and…” She sighs, realizing that she’s rambling. “Well…you’ll see.”

Hannah nods, slowly opening the journal and fanning the pages, her eyebrows arching as she realizes that it’s almost filed. She opens it to a random page and scans it, her fingers touching the ink as her breath catches. “What made you do this?” She asks, slowly turning to face her mother.

“I’ve only ever wanted what was best for you—and thought maybe you’d someday need a little reassuring—reassruing that you were always loved and always wanted.” Reaching out, Regina rubs the back of her fingers against Hannah’s tear-stained cheek. “What happened all those years ago was terrible—without a doubt. But, Peanut, you were the silver lining.”

A small smile forms on Hannah’s lips and she looks back at the journal, and reluctantly, Regina stands.

“I know how embarrassed you get when we start to gush about you, so I’m going to go downstairs.” Leaning in, Regina drops a kiss atop her head. “Come down if you want to talk, okay?” Hannah nods and again offers a small smile as Regina walks toward the hall. Reaching the door she looks back to see the journal already open to the first page—a letter she’d written years before in Camelot on the day she’d made her promise to Zelena—a promise to protect and love her unborn child. She smiles faintly and leaves the room, and when she’s far enough down the hallway, she’s finally able to let her own tears fall.

_____

She clears the bowl from the table, rinsing away the melted ice cream.

She wipes down the counter top and unloads the dishwasher, attempting to keep herself busy. More than anything she wants to go upstairs and pull Hannah into her arms, to hold her and tell her again and again how much she loves her and the things she overheard at the diner, thought they hold a shred of truth, they were nothing more than exaggerations and projections. But she knows her daughter and she knows that Hannah needs time to process it, time to herself to collect her thoughts and weigh her feelings. So, she busies herself in cleaning and she waits.

“Mom?” Hannah’s voice calls, finally after what seems like hours.

She looks up, smiling broadly as Hannah comes into the kitchen and leans against the counter. “Hey, you…”

“Can I…ask you something.”

“Anything.”

A grin tugs at one corner of Hannah’s mouth, “Can I still have ice cream for dinner?”

Regina’s smile stretches across Regina’s lips, “I bought a gallon of it for a reason.”

“And pancakes, too?”

“Blueberry or chocolate-chip?”

“Both.”

“You’ve got it.”

Hannah smiles and steps forward, wrapping her arms around Regina. Regina hears her breath catch as she presses her face into her mother’s shoulder. “Thanks, mom. I love you.”

“Oh, Peanut, I love you, too.” Regina tells in the sincerest of voices as she cups her hand against the back of Hannah’s head, holding her in a tight embrace. Hannah will never truly know how much she means that, how deep her love for her runs; but she hopes that she’ll never again doubt it, never again question it and never think herself unworthy of being loved.


	2. Letters to My Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah reads the book of letters Regina gave to her.

Sitting on the edge of her parents’ bed, she watches as her mother leaves her—though she does it with some reluctance as she lingers at the door. Looking down at the first page of the journal, she rubs her index finger against the black ink, tracing her mother’s words with her index finger. She looks back to find that Regina is no longer lingering; she’s alone, alone with the journal…

Closing her eyes, she can practically still hear the Blue Fairy’s words—each syllable like a little needle, pushing and twisting deeper until the hurt they caused was too much to stand. And she remembers the look on her mother’s face when she realized that she was standing there, listening—how angry she’d been, how hurt she’d looked. And she hates that it’s her existence that made her mother look that way, made her feel that way—because no matter what she says now, the reason she even exists was to cause her mother pain.

Taking a breath, she opens her eyes, staring down at the words written on the page…

> _You occupy my thoughts more and more, and it’s strange to think that in just a few months, you’ll be here with us._

> _This whole situation—the situation that’s brought you to us—has been wrought with so much pain and anger and heartache, and I know that as you grow up, there will be a day when you realize that. But I also hope that there will be a day when you realize that all of those negative feelings were about the situation that brought you to us, they were never about you._
> 
> _I made a promise to your mother today. I told her no matter what happens you will be safe and protected, that you will be loved. I meant that. And it’s a promise that I also want to make to you._

Hannah turns the page, her brow furrowing as she does. She’s not sure what she expected, but she didn’t quite expect…this.

> _A few days ago your dad showed me your sonogram picture. When he showed it to me, his smile was so bright and so full of love for you—he’s so proud to be your dad. He pointed to the screen and he told me that you were the little peanut in the center—and since then, we’ve called you Peanut.  
> _
> 
> _Eventually, you’ll have a proper name, but for now you’re Peanut—our little Peanut, so small and innocent._
> 
> _Somehow, giving you a name—even if it is just a nickname—makes you feel more real, it reminds us that you’re really coming and that you’ll be as much a part of our lives has Henry and Roland. And though that will be in just a few months, it still seems so far away._

She feels a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she reads her nickname—a name she only pretends embarrasses her, a name she pretends no longer suits her and begs her family not to use. The name has been with her for as long as she can remember, but she never knew why they chose it for her—it was simply one of those things she never thought about, never questioned.

> _You came early and we weren’t ready for you._
> 
> _We have a room picked out, but we’ve barely begun to turn it into a nursery. We have paint swatches and we have a plan; but once again, you caught us by surprise, Peanut, and we’re not ready._
> 
> _But ready or not, you’re here. You’re here and you are so beautiful._
> 
> _After you were born, the nurse wrapped you in a pink blanket and put a pink cap on your head, and placed you in your daddy’s arms. When I came in, he was holding you and he was beaming—absolutely beaming with pride and love. It took my breath away to see the two of you together and any worries I had about how this was going to work melted away. I hadn’t admitted it, but I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to love you. My past is complicated and I haven’t always been able to see beyond pain and anger, but when I looked at you I didn’t feel anger or pain. In fact, it was just the opposite and I was so relieved because I so want to love you._
> 
> _You fell asleep that first night on your daddy’s chest. I don’t know how long I sat beside him, watching the two of you sleep, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. You’re such a beautiful little girl, such a wonderful addition to our family—and I love you. I love you so much, Peanut._

Her breath catches at the back of her throat and she turns the page—the thought of her mother not being able to love her is heartbreaking, and she’s relieved to read in the next line that her love was never in question—just as she told her. And she appreciates the honesty of her mother’s words—appreciating that she thought enough of her to be truthful.

> _We named you Hannah._
> 
> _It was a long, laborious process._
> 
> _On the night you were born, I bought a baby name book from the hospital’s gift shop. Your dad and I hadn’t even begun to discuss what we’d call you (aside from Peanut), and I thought this might be fun for him—I did not expect the fun to last for six full days, though. He’s read the thing forward and backward, and the forward again; he’s read every name in the girl’s section, and some from the boys’. And just when I was losing patience with him, he showed me a list and asked me to choose._
> 
> _Mary Margaret came to visit us today—she brought you a bunch of things and I held my tongue when she offered you a little bird that sang songs in a high-pitched and cheery voice. She asked me what name we’d settled on. It was the first time we got to introduce you to someone using your name. I didn’t expect her to ask me why I’d picked Hannah, but she did, and I told her I picked it because it means ‘a child who is a gift.’_
> 
> _And you are a gift to us, Hannah, you really are._

She laughs at the lines about Mary Margaret—she doesn’t quite know their past, but she knows enough to know that despite their constant bickering, they love each other and that they’re family. But once more her breath catches at the sight of her name in her mother’s elegant handwriting and her cheeks flush—she never knew what her name meant nor did know that her mother had picked it for her. Tears fill her eyes upon the realization that her mother really did want her.

She flips ahead a few pages, and notices that the ink on this particular page is smudged—smudged by droplets that look like tear drops.

> _Today was a rough day for you, Peanut. You spent most of it crying—and even though I know it’s only because you’re beginning to teethe, it’s heartbreaking to listen to you suffering—watching and knowing that there’s little I can do to soothe you._
> 
> _You awoke tonight only an hour after daddy put your down—you were screaming and wailing and I was still awake, so I came and I got you. I lifted you out of your crib and I cradled you in my arms and I sang to you—and almost immediately, you settled down. It was a small victory for the both of us—my heart was filled with such relief and so much love, and even after you fell asleep, I couldn’t put you down. So, I stayed with you, rocking you and singing to you, watching as your eyes fluttered as you slept—and I wondered what you were dreaming about. Finally, when my eyes could stay open no longer, I put you back into your crib—and then, something else happened._
> 
> _I kissed your forehead and said goodnight, and as I settled you in your crib I whispered to you: Mommy loves you._
> 
> _I’m not sure what it was about tonight that made me say it. Up until tonight, I’d been content to be your step-mother and your aunt—regardless of who I was to you, I knew that I’d love you—and that was all that seemed to matter to me. But tonight, for the first time, you weren’t your father’s daughter and you certainly weren’t my sister’s daughter—you were mine._
> 
> _And I suppose, you always have been._

Hannah feels warm tears welling in her eyes and with a faint smile on her lips, she pushes them away. Leaving the book of letters on the bed, she gets up and slowly walks downstairs and into the kitchen. For a moment, she hovers in the doorway, leaning against the frame as she watches her mother cleaning up.

“Mom?” she calls, pushing herself into the kitchen.

She leans against the island counter as Regina turns to face her. “Hey, you…”

And for a moment, she isn’t sure what to say. She can tell that her mother is holding back, that there are things she wants to say and things she wants to ask; but she doesn’t. Instead, she’s waiting for her. Taking a short breath, she thinks of the letters, watching as her mother smiles brightly—so patiently and so full of love. She blinks a couple of times, trying to keep her tears at bay, wondering how she’s never noticed how much love rests in her mother’s smile.

“Can…I ask you something?”

She wants to ask her how she was able to do it, how she was able to love her from the start, in spite of everything, how she knew exactly what answers she’d need years later, how she managed to never doubt that things would work out for her family. But she doesn’t because that’s not what’s important now, and she’s done dwelling on what was and how things might have been; instead, she wants to focus on what she has now. So instead she asks for ice cream and pancakes, and when her mother eagerly agrees, she wraps her arms around and tells her that she loves her—and she does. And she wonders how she got so lucky.


	3. Love Heals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah confronts Blue.

“I want a cheeseburger,” Hannah says as she flops down on the couch beside her mother.

Regina turns to face her daughter, taking off the reading glasses perched on her nose. “Oh, well, that’s not what I was planning to make for dinner, but I do have some ground beef in the…”

“No,” Hannah cuts in grinning meekly. “I was hoping that maybe you coud take a break and we could go to Granny’s.” She smiles hopefully as Regina laughs, shaking her head. “Please, mom. I really want a burger…”

“I should say no,” Regina says as she rolls her eyes. “It’s raining and I have a ton of work to do, and there’s chicken marinating in the fridge…”

“But you’re going to say yes?” Hannah asks hopefully.

Regina sighs and tosses aside the budget report she’s been staring at for far too long. “But I’m going to say yes,” she confirms, laughing as Hannah throws herself forward and wraps her arms around her. “I could never say no to my favorite daughter.”

“I’m not going to point out the obvious flaw in your logic because I really want that burger,” Hannah says as a smile twists onto her lips. Getting up, she pulls Regina up with her. “Come on! Let’s go. I’m starving.”  

It’s hard to believe that two weeks before she’d wondered if Hannah would ever bounce back, if she’d ever fully believe in how much she and Robin loved her, how much they’d wanted her and how until her, their family hadn’t been complete. It was something they always knew they’d have to deal with, fully aware that one day they’d have to explain the terrible circumstances that led to Hannah’s conception, but they always assumed the information would come from them—not from catty fairies trading gossipy barbs over iced tea.

They haven’t been back to Granny’s since that day, a choice that been mostly Hannah’s. For the Locksley-Mills family, not eating at least once a day at Granny’s was a rarity—and though that was much to Regina’s dismay, she’d willfully admit it felt good sliding into their usual booth as Hannah chattered on about an upcoming English project because a return to Granny’s meant a return to normalcy. And it meant that Hannah had come out of this all unscathed.

“Hey you,” Ruby says, grinning down at Hannah as she pulls out her notepad. “I missed you around here.”

“I missed being here,” Hannah says with a grin. “And I’ve especially missed the burgers here.”

Ruby laughs softly. “You want extra cheese on it?”

“Yes, please.”

Ruby looks to Regina and her eyebrow arches. “Kale salad, I assume?”

“No, actually. I think I’m going to have a burger, too—but no cheese—or bun.”

“Why bother?” Hannah sighs, shaking her head disapprovingly as she catches her mother’s gaze.

Regina rolls her eyes. “Fine—but I only want a regular amount of cheese.”

Ruby laughs and nods, scribbling the order onto the pad. “And I take it you both want so…” Her voice halts as she looks to the door, watching as Blue and two others come in and slide into the first booth. Regina’s gaze follows Ruby’s, and then Hannah’s follows suit.

Regina feels her jaw tense and she feels the same rage she felt two weeks before boiling just beneath the surface as she thinks how Blue’s words had made Hannah had questioned her own worth. The more she considers it, the more she remembers, the angrier she feels; and, it takes everything in her not to slide out of the booth and make Blue feel exactly as she’d made Hannah feel.

“I’ll ask them to leave,” Ruby says as she takes a step away from their booth.

“No.”

Regina and Ruby both turn to Hannah, watching as she slides out of her seat. Regina feels her heartbeat quicken as Hannah crosses the diner, approaching the first booth where Blue and two of the other fairies are chatting; their voices trail off as Hannah stands in front of their table.

“Mother Superior?”

“Can I…help you?” Blue asks, her eyes widening in Hannah’s direction.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I interrupt?” Hannah asks. “I’d hate to be rude…”

Regina and Ruby exchange glances, and Regina feels her stomach clench as she thinks of what someone as powerful as Blue could do to a child like Hannah.

“Oh, I’ve just been meaning to tell you something for a couple of weeks now, but this is the first opportunity I’ve had.” Regina watches as her daughter takes a quick breath. “I just wanted you to know that, I’ve been praying for you, Mother Superior.” Blue’s head tips to the side and her brow creases as the other fairies exchange glances. “Your life must be so sad. I mean, you’d have to be completely miserable with your own life if you have nothing better to talk about than gossipy stories about my family from, like, thirteen years ago.” Hannah shrugs. “It’s actually a little embarrassing too, when you think about it.”

Regina’s lips purse and Ruby snickers as Blue’s jaw tenses.

“But anyway, I just think it takes a really sad, lonely person to find pleasure in someone else’s pain—to make jokes about it. What happened to my dad all those years ago was terrible, and what happened to my mom was pretty awful, too. But they’re okay now. And so am I because we have people in our lives who care about us more than what happened to us, who help us see the silver lining even in the worst situations.”

Blue scoffs, but says nothing—though her cheeks flush ever-so-slightly as she squares her shoulders and tries to look indifferent.

“I’m sorry you don’t have that,” Hannah says with a dismissive shrug. “I’m going to go have lunch with my mom now—enjoy the rest of your meal.”    

She returns to the table and exhales the breath she’d been holding. Ruby swats her arm approvingly and promises her a milkshake, on the house.

“I probably shouldn’t have done that,” Hannah says, averting Regina’s eyes.

Regina chuckles softly. “No, I think you did exactly what you should have done.” Hannah glances up, catching her mother’s gaze. “You stood up for yourself and for your family—I’m proud of you. You were so calm and collected, and you definitely got your point across. You must get that from your dad because had I gone over there, Blue would probably be looking a little…ashy.”

Hannah giggles and shakes her head. “Actually, I think I got it from you. I…think I got a lot from you.” She shrugs and her cheeks flush slightly as she grins. Regina nods, smiling proudly at her daughter—the silver lining in what otherwise would have been a very grim story.


End file.
